Peter casolin



(No Model.)

P. C AS 9 LIN.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Patenteed Apr. 19,1898.

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UNITED STATES PATENT CIEEICE.

PETER CASOLIN, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 602,695, dated April 19, 1898.

Application filed December 2, 1897. Serial No. 660,502. (No model.)

T all whow/ t may concern.-

Be it known that I, PETER OASOLIN, of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Musical Instruments, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to certain improvements in musical instruments of that class, such as the guitar, which consists of a body and a neck attached thereto and provided with strings, the object of the improvement y being to render the instrument more portable and to make the same more convenient for attaching and detaching the strings than instruments of its class heretofore constructed.

The invention consists of certain novel constructions by which the neck is made separable from the body and other novel constructions by which the attachment and removal of the strings are facilitated.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this speciiication, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a top plan view of a guitar constructed according` to my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section taken through the instrument at the junction of the neck and body. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view taken upon the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4c is a broken end elevation of the body at the point where the neck is attached. Fig. 5 is a broken top plan view of the plate to which the strings are attached and which is itself attached to the outer end of the body; and Fig. 6 is a section of the same, taken upon the line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

Musical instruments of that class resembling the guitar, which consists of a body and a neck attached thereto, are very inconvenient for transportation by reason of their peculiar shape. My invention has as one object the construction of instruments of this class so that their necks may be readily separable from the body in order that the instrument may be packed into a case of more convenient size than the ordinary case and so that the neck may be readily and securely attached to the body when the instrument is to be used.

In the drawings I have shown the improvement as applied to a guitar and will so describe it, although it will be readily understood that my invention may be applied to any other musical instrument having the same characteristics of construction namely, a body and a neck over which strings are stretched.

The body A of the guitar is of ordinary construction, except that at the point where the neck is attached a recess A is formed in the block, which is usually placed at this point for strengthening the body, said recess being made of such an outline as to receive the end of the neck therein and to form a close union therewith. This recess in the end of the body is preferred as making a better and more secure attachment, although it is not strictly considered an essential.

At the bottom of the recess A is secured a plate D7 said plate having a number of vertical slots d therein. As shown in the drawings, three of these slots are used, the center one extending to a much greater depth than the others. The plate D should preferably have a rearward extension D, forming chambers immediately back of the slots d and connected to that portion of the plate D between the slots by webs, so as to support the bars E, hereinafter described, iirmly. The end of the neck B is also provided with a plate having webs e extending vertically thereon and adapted to enter the slots d in the plate D and to forni a snug tit therein. These webs terminate in bars E,which, as shown in the drawings, are square in cross-section, although they may be made of any form found desirable. The bars F. engage with the inner side of the plate D and hold the neck B and plate D rmly together. The lower end of the central or longer of the bars E is provided with a threaded hole adapted to receive the end of a bolt F, which passes through the lower side of the body and is adapted to enter said hole and press the parts together, so as to prevent them from being separated.

The plate C, which carries the frets, ordinarily extends over the upper surface of the guitar-body. In such cases this plate will be divided at the point of junction of body and neck and hinged thereto by a hinge C', which will permit its swinging downward against the end of the neck when the neck is separated from the body. When the neck and body are secured together, this swinging sec- IOO tion G will lie upon the upper surface of the body, and if the hinge is placed immediately beneath one of the frets the fact that it is hinged Will not be noticeable. By this means it is a simple matter to separate or attach the neck and body when desired, and the attachment, when made, is as firm as that of the ordinary guitar. It Will have no iniiuenee Whatever upon the tones of the instrument, and by reason of the neck being separable from the body it may be packed into a case of much less size, which will be easier to transport than the ordinary guitar-case and Will present a much better appearance. The shape of the case Will be square, and it Will be impossible for any one to tell Whether there is a musical instrument in the case or the case is used to contain clothing.

In using an instrument of this class having a detachable neck it is necessary to provide some means by which the strings may be readily attached to or detached from the body of the instrument. This is secured by means of the device shown in detail in Figs. 5 and G, which device consists of a plate G, having means provided for secu ring the strings thereto and pivoted by a rod K to a plate K, which is permanently secured to the end of the guitar-body. This rod K' is threaded at one end 7o an d is screwed into a threaded hole in a corresponding` portion of the plate K. By unscreiving this rod K the plate G may be readily removed With the strings thereto and the strings be secured in place by Wrapping them about the neck or disposing them in any other convenient manner.

The plate K is constructed so as to allow also for theconvenient removal of any one of the strings desired. The strings are secured to the plate by having a knot formed in one end thereof and passing the string through a hole g, formed in the plate. These holes g have narrow slots g connecting therewith and extending in the direction of the strings. After the string has been placed in the hole g it is drawn into the slot and cannot be pulled out of the same, the knot which Was formed upon the string being of sufficient size to prevent it from passing through the hole g. The strings are then more iirmly secured in place by means of the sliding plate I, Which'is mounted upon the plate G and adapted to slide over the holes g. This plate is provided with a slot I and is clamped upon the plate G- by means of the thumb-nut J, the

bolt of which passes through thcslot 1. The plate is also provided with a cross-bar H, which has the slots g formed therein and which furnish a stop for the plate Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. A musical instrument, having a separable body and neck, the body having a recess with sloping or converging sides opening to one side of the body and adapted to receive the similarly-shaped end of the neck, a plate located at the bottom of said recess and having slots extending to the open edge of said recess, a plate on the end of the neck, and bars attached to said plate by Webs and adapted to t in the slots in the plate at the bottom of the recess, substantially as described.

2. A musical instrument, having a separable body and neck, the body having a recess with sloping or converging sides opening to one side of the body and adapted to receive the similarly-shaped end of the neck, a plate located at the bottom of said recess and having slots extending to the open edge of said recess, a plate on the end of the neck, bars attached thereto by Webs and adapted to fit in the slot in the plate at the bottom of the recess, one of said bars having a threaded hole in its ends, and a bolt mounted in the body and entering said threaded bar, substantially as described.

3. A musical instrument, having a neck and body, said neck being separable from the body, and a plate pivoted to the neck at its end and extending over the body when in use, or folded down against the end of the neck, as the parts are connected or separated, said plate carrying a portion of the frets, substantially as described.

4. A fastening for the strings of musical instruments, comprising a plate having a series of holes therethrough and a narrow slot extending from each hole and adapted to receive the strings,and a plate mounted to slide upon the first plate and adapted to cover or free said holes, and means for clamping the tWo plates together, substantially as described.

PETER CASOLIN.

Witnesses:

GEORGE JACOB, JOHN J. DoNNnLLY.

IOO 

